


Citrus Sting of Betrayal

by CrucioAndCoffee



Series: We Bleed Ambrosia and Ichor Universe [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Death Eaters, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 02:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16188407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrucioAndCoffee/pseuds/CrucioAndCoffee
Summary: Work has Alecto pulled in every direction and Bellatrix questions her loyalty to the Dark Lord, to her. Both are so stressed and pulled tautly, they're about to snap.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We Bleed Ambrosia and Ichor was getting too fluffy. Had to fix that.

Rain poured down the streets of London, and it spattered across the window in a rapping of various small taps. Bellatrix sat in the window seat, curled up on herself, watching the streets below. Wizards scrambled to get out of the rain or simply used magic to stay dry. 

She rested her forehead against the cold window, her breath fogging it. A knuckle traced a circle in the mist before she made a fist, slamming it into the window. Her fingers dragged down the glass, and she exhaled sharply—another puff of fog across the window. 

Bellatrix waited in the dark for Alecto. She had lit a candle earlier, but it burned down, and wax dripped across the table. It was the dead of night, and she still glared with intent out the window, the rain pattering against the glass. Weeks now Alecto has spent more time at auror headquarters, missed many Death Eater meetings she’d been summoned to, and she hardly ever came home to their flat. Too many nights she’d laid in bed cold and missing Alecto. It started to hurt, but Bellatrix swallowed it before its lithe fingers could choke her. Instead, she turned it into anger. 

“ _How dare Alecto_ ,” is all she could think. She had no choice than to question her loyalty. She’d barely been around, and the small interactions were distant and shallow. Alecto was defecting, she knew it. She was unmarked after all. No one of the light would be any the wiser. 

Bellatrix hopped up from the window seat, finally able to pry her focus off the street. Something in her blood boiled, and a sting pierced her tongue. It tasted like bitter citrus and like iron—betrayal. Betrayal from the person she trusted more than anyone, except maybe her Lord, but who was she fooling? Alecto had left a seed deep in her heart, and Bellatrix loved the redhead more than she’d care to admit. 

She paced. It was all she could do while she waited. Maybe she could destroy the apartment, leave, just leave and let Alecto reap the rewards of her actions. No, she couldn’t do that. That was giving in to the fear of punishment from their Lord.  She wouldn’t run scared from him. Bellatrix ran her fingers through her hair and gripped at it tightly. No, she couldn’t do that. The thought that any of this could be true strung worse. Alecto would never hurt her. Would she?

Bellatrix froze in place, and the last bit of life in the candle’s flame snuffed out, leaving her in complete darkness. She didn’t bother with her wand or lighting any lamps. Bellatrix merely stood in the darkness, breathing heavily, trying to not drown in a swell of thoughts. 

The front door opened, and Alecto walked into the hall with her wand lit. Bellatrix glared her down from paces away, arms crossed, still unable to completely breathe. She wanted to scream. What exactly she’d force out? She didn’t know. There was just an urgent need to let her insides expel their unpleasant feelings. 

She waltzed forward, turning on a lamp. “You’re home late,” Bellatrix said coldly. She forced her voice to be emotionless and low.

Alecto took off her outer robe and hung it on the coat rack, and dried herself off with a spell. She didn’t acknowledge Bellatrix. 

“So now you’re ignoring me completely?” Bellatrix muttered. She turned on her heels to the kitchen. Firewhiskey sounded pleasant. 

A hand caught her elbow and pulled her back into an embrace. Alecto’s lips found hers and kissed her with a softness she’d never experienced from the woman before. 

Alecto pulled their foreheads together and broke the kiss to say, “I missed you so much.” She kissed Bellatrix’s cheek and rubbed her arms, holding her close. 

She struggled but managed to rip herself from her grip. Alecto watched her step away from her arms still hovering in the air. 

“Bellatrix, what is this about?” she asked quietly. 

She glared at Alecto and forced herself to stand still, choosing to drum her fingers on her hips. “Which side of this war are you on?”

Alecto blinked. She dropped her arms and crossed them tightly around herself. “The Dark Lord’s of course.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why?” 

“You’ve spent so much time with the Aurors. You never come when he summons you. You’ve missed mission after mission.” Her teeth ground against themselves. “You hardly are ever home with me.” She hated how her voice cracked. 

Alecto held up a hand. “Wait. Are you accusing me of defecting? Is that what I’m hearing?” Her voice dropped low and cold. It sent a shiver up Bellatrix’s spine and froze it there. It hurt to move. Alecto shook her head in disbelief. “You are,” she said quieter. Her posture changed completely, defensive and taller. “How lucky is it that you only have to be on one side, is it Bellatrix. Being the whore for the Dark Lord?” 

Bellatrix’s jaw dropped. Alecto said it so casually like it was well thought over. “I am not his whore. I’m his strongest! Most loyal!”

“And you do that job well, but whenever he asks, you happily part those legs of yours for him.” Alecto looked pained, and her voice dipped into possessive aggravation. She looked over Bellatrix with a glare of betrayed fury. “I go to work. I dance around the Aurors carefully and keep you and the others from being convicted. I pretend to be friendly to mudbloods and traitors and all sorts of filthy beings to keep you safe! And this is how you thank me?” 

Alecto stormed out of the hall and into the study. It was her second room when they fought. Bellatrix couldn’t breathe, but she followed Alecto and waited in the doorway. 

“You’re not going to say anything else? Not accuse me of anything else?” Alecto snapped. She stood over a bag that was already packed. 

“Alecto—“

“Do you know what it’s like? To have to pretend to be something all hours of the day, and never having a chance to rest?” Alecto swallowed, and her voice cracked. “I pretend with the Aurors. I pretend around the Dark Lord. I can’t let him know how my work affects me! Makes me empathetic! How much his missions start to hurt!” She cast a spell and destroyed her sitting chair, splintering it. She let out a groan of anger. Alecto turned to Bellatrix, her eyes red and tears spilling down her cheeks. “And how much I have to pretend around you!” she yelled. Alecto let a sob escape into the air. “I’m tired Bellatrix!”

Her rage flared again, and she stared back at Alecto. Tears pricked at her eyes as well. “Pretend? What exactly are you pretending?” Bellatrix swallowed. “Are you admitting you don’t love me?” Alecto visibly cracked at that statement. Her posture became slack as if someone snapped her spine.

“After all I go through for you... you think I don’t love you?” Her voice went small. “Bellatrix, I have to pretend I’m strong and alright and not constantly falling apart for you.” She swallowed and angrily wiped away her tears. “I love you, all of you. I just have to be the one to pick you up when your conditions break you down, and I can’t show you how bad I hurt. You don’t need that side of me...” She looked down at the bag. “This is an emergency pack in case we needed to leave. Do you want me to pick it up and go?” Her voice was shaky along with her breath. “Just tell me what you fucking want. I’m tired.”

Bellatrix’s back hit the wall, and she held onto herself. Her tears kept coming, and she hated it. She ground her teeth unable to unlock her jaw. “Please, no,” she whispered. 

She couldn’t move. Her entire body locked and stiffened. All she could do was watch Alecto pace. 

Bellatrix found some semblance of composure. “Do you really think I’m his whore?” she asked. “You never once said anything against it. I’m not a mind reader Alecto.” 

Alecto froze in place. Her arms fell limp to her sides, and she let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t—I’m jealous. I love you. I don’t want to share you. But I can’t make you refuse him. I see the way you look at him.” Alecto turned and gazed at her. Her eyes were swollen and bright red. “You never look at me like that, and it hurts.”

Alecto sat on her cot in the corner, hiding her head in her hands. She said nothing and the silence was deafening. Bellatrix couldn’t find words to scream how wrong Alecto was. Her feet carried her to Alecto, and she collapsed on top of her, cradling her in her arms. She tipped her chin so she could kiss Alecto. 

“I love you, Alecto,” she whispered. “I never thought I’d know what that was until you.” Bellatrix positioned herself into Alecto’s lap and cuddled her, forcing her head at the nape of Alecto’s neck. 

Alecto’s arms wrapped around her protectively. “I’m so tired, baby girl.” She rested her head on Bellatrix’s.

Bellatrix kissed her neck and rubbed circles into her collarbone. She played with Alecto’s red hair, curling it around a finger. She tried every way to soothe her. It was not her strong point, but she tried.

They fell backward and cuddled together on the cot. Bellatrix rested her head across Alecto’s chest and listened to her heartbeat. Alecto’s shoulders and chest shook as she silently cried. She just held onto her lover harder, unable to figure out what to do.

“My loyalty is to you,” Alecto whispered, “before anyone else.”

Bellatrix froze. Her heart fluttered with such a statement from a Hufflepuff, let alone the Dark Lord’s most trusted torturer. She bit her lip and refused to snap at how it should be to the Dark Lord. Instead, she kissed Alecto’s cheek and rubbed a knuckle across the other. 

Alecto glanced over at her and faintly smiled. “I know you’ll never love me the way I love you... but can we at least pretend, for tonight?” 

Her heart stopped beating and shattered. Bellatrix rested her head against Alecto’s and kissed her temple. “Alecto...” she whispered. “I do love you.” She snuggled her closely and tightly. Bellatrix hid herself in the crux of Alecto’s neck and shoulder. “He can never love me. He knows that. I... know that.” Her limbs hurt as she cradled her lover. She’d fucked everything up. 

“I love you Alecto,” she murmured. 

They fell asleep with dried tears on their cheeks and limbs intertwined.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read. Can’t remember if I checked it with grammarly. Don’t really care either.

The morning came and went. Alecto laid there silently as Bellatrix slept across her chest. She ran her fingers through the woman’s hair, gently toying with it. A lump had formed in her throat and her eyes stung from a moment of weakness. Alecto refused to get up and disturb Bellatrix.    
  
The night before ran through her mind and she couldn’t calm it down. Bellatrix admitted she loved her but did no such thing as denying her feelings for the Dark Lord, only relenting to knowing it’s futile. Somehow that hurt worse. Any moment the Dark Lord could confess feelings for Bellatrix and she’d leave for him. She was so willing to call disloyalty when this got harsh... Alecto began to cry again. She swallowed it, nearly choking on the lump still there.    
  
A soothing touch came to her cheek, and then lips onto hers. “Please don’t cry,” came a small voice.    
  
Alecto grabbed onto Bellatrix tightly, pulling her into an embrace. She held her and tried to relish in the closeness. That moment she wished she could put her mask back on, pretend to be in control, pretend Bellatrix was hers.    
  
She kissed Bellatrix softly, and not fully, like she’d given up. Maybe she had. Alecto rested against the cot, and turned away from Bellatrix. The room went silent and the heartbreak was audible in Bellatrix’s shaky breaths.    
  
Bellatrix pulled Alecto to rest her head in her lap. She played with Alecto’s hair, scratching her nails against her scalp soothingly. Alecto pushed her forehead against Bellatrix’s stomach.    
  
“You don’t know what it’s like... having to hurt and fight the people you see on a daily basis. Watch the light leave their eyes as they realize their friend is going to kill them. It hurts. It’s making me soft. I hate it!” Alecto’s voice cracked and went hoarse as she talked. “I hate them but what I have to do to them... haunts me. I hate that it effects me! It shouldn’t! I’m stronger—better than that!” Alecto sobbed against her lover, if they could still be called that.    
  
Bellatrix inhaled sharply, and barely whispered, to the point it was faintly audible, “we could... run away... together.”    
  
Alecto shot up and watched Bellatrix. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears. Was she really willing to give up everything for her? Something swelled in her chest. It was painful from the sheer extent of joy she felt. But she watched Bellatrix closer. She looked as if she was about to break. Her protective instincts kicked in and she pulled Bella to her, kissing her softly. Alecto ignored her own tears and aching in her chest, Bellatrix needed her. She made Bella sit in her lap and cradled her. Playful she knocked their heads together. Her body still racked with sobs, but she fought through it.    
  
“I couldn’t do that to you...” she debated calling Bellatrix her nickname, “baby girl. I can’t take you away from him or this cause.”   
  
Bella flipped around to face her and snuggled against her. “But it would make you happy.” She tucked a strand of hair behind Alecto’s ear.    
  
Alecto kissed her hard, smiling against her lips, and a lone tear finding its way down her cheek. “I’ll go where you go, but you’re needed here.” She pushed Bellatrix back onto the cot and pinned her arms to her sides of her head. Alecto leaned down and kissed her again. She rested their foreheads together. “I love you, Bellatrix Black.”   
  
“I love you Alecto,” Bellatrix hummed.


End file.
